Anybody's Nightmare (2001 TV Movie) User Reviews

Funny or musical or dramatic, this wonderful lady remains the darling of the day!

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 22 July 2021]

Quite beloved for her TV comic work or her delicious performances on stage in England and America, Dame Patricia Routhledge is a world treasure. Having heard the cast album of "Darling of the Day" and seen her on a video of Ruth in "The Pirates of Penzance", I was amazed by her ability to connect with live audiences, always wanting to break into applause after hearing her voice while performing the Jule Styne/E. Y. Harburg songs of "Darling of the Day", a role that fellow British comic and musical legend Gracie Fields had played in "Holy Matrimony" on screen. But I had never seen her in a dramatic role before, and here, my heart breaks for her real life character Mrs. Bowler who spent time in prison for a crime she was innocent of.

Accused of murdering her late husband's aunt, Mrs. Bowler seems resigned to her fate, emotionally empty as her world falls apart. The gentle lady, with only her cello playing daughter and son in law to support her and an old acquaintance with experience in fighting the legal system , she decides to appeal for justice and find out what happened so she can be cleared. But it's going to be a rough road, not only for her but the journalists hoping to get the family to crack. This British TV movie shows how lives are turned upside down when the court system fails. Routhledge is stunning in performance, heart, strength and perseverance, winning the admiration of the prison staff, and the supporting cast is fine as well. But it's plots like this that are anger inducing on many levels, not many of them overturned until too many years later.

Can't find it to watch?

[dollskrusz · 8/10 · 13 July 2019]

Would love to know if anyone knows where to find this movie to watch. I saw a 14 minute preview on YouTube and that's it... Thanks if you can help! (In Boston, MA) I am giving the first 14 minutes a resounding 8 stars!!

Gripping True Story

[Dawnfrancis · 10/10 · 5 January 2003]

This is a very powerful, moving true story. Recalling a great miscarriage of the British judicial system, it follows events as Sheila Bowler is falsely accused of murdering her elderly aunt. Patricia Routledge is absolutely superb as the middle aged woman who's faith in natural justice was sadly misplaced

Gripping true story.

[stevesfan · 5 June 2019]

So much for British justice, I didn't know it was a true story, just wanted to see it as I like Patricia routledge. I kept missing on tv, and only got to see it this week on true movies. I was astounded, Patricia should have been nominated for an award for this. It was so gripping, her performance was superb. So very moving at the end.

A nightmare come true!

[Rabical-91 · 10/10 · 11 September 2017]

Patricia Routledge is best remembered with justification for her splendid portrayal of Hyacinth Bucket in BBC1's 'Keeping Up Appearances' though it must be noted that she is a wonderful straight actress too, as her performances in 'A Woman Of No Importance', 'Hetty Wainthropp Investigates' and this well and truly proved.

Set in the Rye area of Sussex in 1992, 'Anybody's Nightmare' is based on a true story that took place that year in which a piano teacher in her '60's named Sheila Bowler was wrongly accused of murdering her elderly aunt. Whilst driving home with her disabled Aunt Flo ( who was going to be spending the weekend with her ) one night, their car broke down in the middle of nowhere. Sheila duly went to find help and when she returned she found her Aunt missing.

The next morning, Aunt Flo's corpse was found washed up in a nearby canal. As Flo's ability to walk was severely limited, speculations lead to the police wrongly believing that Sheila was the culprit. Cutting a long story short, the pensioner from Sussex was jailed for four years before eventually being acquitted.

Patricia Routledge's realistic portrayal of Bowler makes John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch's script look stronger than it was actually written. The support cast also do the excellent script justice. There's no comedy on show here so people tuning in expecting to see Hyacinth Bucket will be in for a big disappointment. Not counting work in theatre, this was indeed Routledge's last acting role, who was aged 72 when this went out. It has been repeated from time to time on satellite movie channels since it original broadcast, albeit edited, so for those who feel compelled to give it a go, keep an eye out for it. It is gripping stuff!

Be alert about possible consequences of a trivial behavior.

[carmo-5 · 9/10 · 19 February 2023]

The TV-movie Anybody´s Nightmare (2001) is very interesting and is based on a real situation that happened in 1992 in England, to Sheila Bowler, a piano teacher. I had never imagined that a situation like the one she experienced could be turned into a nightmare that started in the following days and continued throughout the following years. The title of the movie, however, kind of prepares us to watch a quite trivial event that caused a substantial impact on the people involved, particularly to Sheila´s aunt and to herself. This is a very good movie that makes you think and be alert about possible consequences trigged by a trivial, common and nonintentional thing you do, which could push you into a long period of despair.

The Law Is a Ass ... a Idiot

[drednm · 4 November 2020]

Patricia Routledge stars in this drama based on the real-life conviction and jailing of Sheila Bowler. Bowler was imprisoned for 4 years for the murder of her husband's aunt despite there not being a shard of evidence against her. She was finally able to overturn (quash) her conviction thanks to her children and a scrappy neighbor.

Harrowing story has Bowler taking the old lady out of the nursing home and driving her back to Rye for a visit. Along the way, she gets a flat tire and leaves the old lady in the car while she goes for help. When she gets back, the old lady is gone.

When she's found in the river a few days later. the local cops build a case against Bowler since the old lady was supposedly an invalid and could not have wandered off. Despite having no hard evidence of any kind, Bowler is eventually convicted by circumstantial evidence and supposition. She also seems to have had a totally inept legal defense.

Her children are totally ignorant of the legal system and only start to fight back when a neighbor pitches in and badgers the kids and the lawyers into seeking appeals.

Eventually they discover just how inept the legal defense was and start chipping away. The British legal system, however, fights them every inch of the way.

Routledge is superb as Bowler, the middle class music teacher who endures the harsh prison life for 4 years. Also notable is Nicola Redmond as Angela Devlin, on whose book this film is based.